Ministers are shameless thieves: Zanu PF MP

HARARE – Gokwe-Nembudziya Zanu PF MP Justice Mayor Wadyajena has sensationally claimed that some ministers in President Robert Mugabe’s Cabinet are corrupt, labelling them “shameless thieves”.

This comes after the just-turned 93 years leader recently said no corruption evidence had been tendered against any of his officials.

Wadyajena made the claims while responding to Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary general Raymond Majongwe, who had posted a picture of the latest Land Rover Range Rover on Twitter, which he said should not be shown to Zimbabwean ministers, otherwise the country would be plunged into more debt.

Despite Mugabe saying there is no evidence to prove the corruption, the worrying concerns over graft are on the back of Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko recently saying Mugabe’s Cabinet is full of thieves, while youth leader Kudzai Chipanga has also said ministers have misplaced priorities.

Zimbabwe is ranked 150 out of 168 countries, according to the Transparency International 2015 Corruption Perception Index.

The corruption watchdog has warned that corruption has infiltrated public and private institutions.

Speaking on his 93rd birthday interview, Mugabe said: “We only hear so and so is corrupt. Well, this could be the case. Perhaps the big fish might also be capable of hiding their corruption. I don’t know. Or are people afraid to come out and even come to us and say so and so steals such amounts and we investigate that.”

“For now we only hear big fish, big fish, big fish. People were in the habit of accusing the others of being corrupt with no evidence. I will investigate but I don’t want political attacks as it were…if there is evidence, we will pursue that evidence and certainly we will deal with the persons,” he said.

Last year, the Judicial Service Commission launched an anti-corruption programme dubbed Against Corruption Together (Act) that involved stakeholders, the Law Society of Zimbabwe, National Prosecuting Authority, the Attorney General’s office, Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services, Justice ministry, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the Zimbabwe Republic Police in a bid to deal with corruption.